24 SERMONS UPON MARK X. 17-27. [SeR. X.
2, That the gathering of a spiritual disease is very secret and insen- sible. Bad humours breed in the body, and are not discovered till a strain ; much more distempers breed in the soul ere we are aware, and therefore the more caution is necessary : Prov. xxx. 9, ' Give me not riches, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord ? ' Every man is afraid of want and poverty, but who is afraid of riches ? Yet Agur is as much afraid of that as of poverty. Our greatest learn- ing is to learn how to abound. The worldly-minded judge riches and abundance a happy condition : Oh ! blessed is the man, they will say, that is in such a case. It is the sum of every man's wish ; but to be shy of the world, to suspect danger in plenty, it can never enter into their hearts. But alas ! as a rank soil is apt to breed weeds, so many snares are incident to this condition and this sort of life. Alas ! they that have great and plentiful estates, how apt are they to pamper tbe flesh, to grow forgetful of God, slight in holy things, to be wedded to worldly greatness. A corrupt heart will take mischief in every course of life, as a drunken man will stumble in the plainest way, but espe- cially in a plentiful condition. As soon as men have anything in the world, their heads are lifted up above their brethren, and they grow proud, scornful of God's word, slighting of holy things, and we are wholly enchanted with pleasures of such an estate, but consider not the snares that secretly are laid for their souls.
3. There is no means to prevent the danger but by the continual exercise of good works, and a prudent carefulness to improve our sub- stance for God's glory and helpfulness to others. Look, as we clip the wings of birds that they may not fly away from us, or as we cut off the superfluous boughs of trees that they may not hinder their growth and height, so this should be your care, not to join house to house, and field to field, for then our desires will swell into so vast an excess and proportion, as will not become grace and hopes of heaven. No ;, but your business should be how you should honour God : Prov. iii. 9, ' Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thy increase ; ' Give alms, and all shall be clean unto you,' Luke xi. 41. A man's care should rather be for contracting and cutting short his desires, and how to make use of it in order to eternal life. Unless there be this constant solicitude upon tbe heart, it is impossible ' for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.'
SERMON X.
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, Hoio hardly shall tliey that have riches enter into the hngidom of God 1 — Mark x. 23.
You have heard this young man was loath to sell all, and yet loath to quit his hopes of eternal life. He did not go away murmuring and frowning against Christ, but, because he could not bring both ends
7eR. 23.] SERMONS UrON MARK X. 17-27. 25
together, 'He went away sad, for he had great possessions.' The instance of this young roan had raised them all into wonder, and there- fore when they were full of thoughts about it, our Lord would make use of this for the instruction of his disciples. You find our Lord edifying his disciples upon all occasions, and improving every occurrence for their good. As a wise man passing by the field of the sluggard learns wisdom, and hath a sensible discovery of the loss and ill effects of idleness and careless indiligence ; so by this young rich man's re- fusal of Christ's terms, the disciples might know the snares of the wealthy, and what a pull-back from Christ the love of the world is. Surely they that were sent forth to gain the world need such an instruc- tion partly that they might be more diligent in warning rich men of their danger and duty : 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; ' and partly that they might not be offended if their doctrine should be despised by men of that rank and order. The rich and full-fed world- lings were likely to despise the doctrine of a crucified Saviour and oppose his worshippers : James ii. 6, 7, * But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats ? Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called ? ' "Now they are forearmed against this contempt by seeing Christ hinself refused by a rich man. And partly for themselves, that, laying aside all thoughts of worldly greatness, they might the better bear their own poverty, riches being such a hindrance and impediment to the kingdom of God ; for they were leavened with the conceit of a carnal Messiah, that they should be mighty men in the world, and until the Spirit was poured out they had this conceit ; for these and such like reasons, ' Jesus looked round about him, and saith to his dis- ciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ! ' In this verse we have —